Having received the news that an enemy infiltrate the castle, everyone tensed up, but none of them showed a hint of panic.
Most of them searched around the castle in groups, while others came to reinforce the walls in case an attack comes.
Among these reinforcements, they were a few magic casters in their ranks.
Even if the Berum kingdom favored life force users the most, that didn't mean none was practicing the ways of magic arts.
Though most of them would be frowned at considering their nemesis being the Arcana Kingdom, a place where magic casters drive.
But even then, the fundamental rule of the strong being of respect was always there.
And magic by its essence held many advantages that the life force couldn't replicate.
The most obvious is the range difference.
In a fight between groups and armies, it wasn't unreasonable to say that magic casters were the biggest threat in a war.
Their weakness was that most of the time, their bodies were weak, and getting close to them spelled death to them.
But being on top of several meters-high walls, they could rain hell on whoever tried to raid the castle!
"Any sights of the enemy?" One of the magic casters asked the patrolling team.
"No, the forest is still quiet as always. But..."
Seeing the hesitation on the soldier's face, the magic caster in turn frowned.
"What is it? Did you notice something, or are you trying to keep information from the army?"
"W-What? No, no, It might be just my imagination, but...doesn't the forest look gloomier than usual?
Hearing that, everyone looked at the forest with a frown on their face.
Some of them saw nothing unusual some also confirmed the soldier's claim that the forest was indeed much gloomier than before.
Once the magic caster lays his eyes on the forest, his face is also distorted into a frown.
" This is..."
Maybe it was because it was the night that others couldn't see the difference, but to a magic caster whose sense of mana was stronger, he could identify the dark most that shrouded the forest.
If it was a normal mist, he wouldn't even bother to give it a second glance, but seeking a mana-infested mist was too strange!
And right at that moment, with the help of his mana enchanting his eyesight, he saw sever all figures coming through the mist!
"E-Enemy! There are enemy troops in the forest!"
As soon as he alerted the others, a cry of pain sounded through the distance.
"Kyaaaaagh!!!"
Turning their heads towards the commotion, everyone's eyes widen in surprise.
As a man sunk his very own teeth at one of their colleagues with a ferocious expression on his face!
His finger grows twice as long and they harden to the point that they became sharp claws, digging into the chest of the poor soldier who was being eaten alive.
While this cannibal was busy feasting on one of their own, another 4 of those cannibals appeared from his side and dashed with unnatural moved towards the living.
Though they moved unfit for the living, their speed far surpassed the leverage of 2nd-tier Joe and their killing intent broke through the roof.
"Stop them!"
The soldiers push forward their spears, waiting for the enemy to come close enough to impale them.
"Fles~aaaaah!"
With a sweep of their claws, they pushed the spears to the side while digging their free claw right into their chest.
The armor that those soldiers had penetrated and cut like butter.
Nothing could save those soldiers from their fate.
"You monster! Of fire! Head my call and burn my enemies. [Fire Swep]!"
Raising his staff, the magic caster cast his spell which engulfed the cannibals and their prey in a wave of fire.
Though it might have been seen as merciless in burning his allies, the magic caster knew that they were done with such injury through their chest.
"Kiagh!!!"
"S-Stop!"
"Help!"
...
Their cries of help soon calmed down after a while, but after the fire had gone out, while the soldier lay down dead, the 4 cannibals were standard tall.
Their skin was burned to the point where their muscles could be seen, but soon enough their wounds of them started to heal at a rapid past.
"Food!"
"Flesh!"
"Kill!"
"Human!"
While still injured the four cannibals started charging at the other soldiers who were shocked at their regeneration.
And those guys weren't the only ones that were facing those guys.
All around the castle, groups of those cannibals rampaged and ravaged the flesh of the living.
Those who had a 3rd-tier expert had it the easiest as they were capable to slay those monsters.
But those a tier below had trouble facing them.
The magic caster who saw the unusual regeneration of them and the long claws had finally come to recognize what those things were.
"Dammit! From where did does undead come from."
Hearing the key information, a nearby asked with a desperate tone.
"What!? What kind of undead are they!?"
Raising his staff, the magic caster answered.
"They are ghouls!"
Undead known for their unending hunger and regeneration similar to that of a troll.
Unless someone finished them with one single attack, then one should be prepared to become the meal of that undead.
Luckily for these soldiers, they had an overwhelming number difference against those few ghouls.
And most of them were of the 2nd-tier with a magic caster backing them from the rear.
In turn, the ghouls were divided and used no strategy at all, and moved like animals driven by their instinct alone.
The surprise attack of the ghouls did make some casualties among them, but after getting the situation under control, it didn't even take them a minute to finish the ghouls off.
"Hu~mens!!!"
"[Icy Circle]]!"
With a sharp circle blade shooting in the last Ghoul's head, it dropped to the ground unmoving."
It took them a total of 2 minutes to get everything under control.
At the time of the surprise attack, they failed to realize the true intent of the ghoul's appearance.
But soon enough everyone started to find out by the screeching noise of the gate of the wall.
*Crigh-Crigh-Crigh!
With the noise attracting everyone's22 attention, those who were close enough only now noticed the several corpses that were spread on the walls.
The leaves controlling the gate were pulled down and broken, making every attempt to stop the gate from opening futile.
Waiting in the middle of the gate down to the ground, was a sole figure wearing dark plated armor.
Seeing all that happening, the magic caster had a flashback of the dark mist in the forest.
"Impossible! Was this their true aim!"
Bringing his head to look down the walls, he like many other people notice the walls being shrouded by a dark mist.
But even if they realised it now.
Now it was too late.
The gate fully opened, revealing the dark mist.
A huge wolf figure with metal-like claws and a three eyes skull came walking together with an army of undead behind his steps.
Each of them had the ethereal dark green eyes in common.
They couldn't have expected this of happening.
While the dark mist hid the undead army from others' sight, the distraction that the ghouls served with their loud yells covered the noise that the undead army was making.
Nonetheless, the gate was heavily guarded by several 3rd-tier experts, each of them being strong enough to face an army of hundred of the 2nd-tier soldiers.
But not only were those guys massacred in such a short amount of time, but they didn't even manage to warn the others who were focused on the loud and ferocious ghouls.
Leaving them in the current situation where the undead army came right through the front door of their own house!
"Hurry up and stop them! Don't let the undead in the castle!"
Hearing the command of someone, the soldiers of Berum quickly moved.
Danzel, the mastermind behind all this could only chuckle to himself.
"Hehe~you guys are too late."
Looking at his undead troops entering the castle, he sends out his command.
"My undead! Head my command!"
Turning his back on his undead army, he pointed his sword forward.
"Go and slaughter them all! Leave none of them alive!"
"KGwaaaahh!"
Skull Crawl howl spread to his surroundings, making every soldier who heard it shake unconsciously.
"For our liege!"
"For our liege!"
"For our liege!"
Every undead chanted at the same time as the advantage forward.
Their chilling voice turned into a terrifying echo as their footsteps seemed about to bring an earthquake to this mortal realm.
Lowering his sword, the liege of that undead stepped forward.
'It seems like everything has gone according to plan. It was worth improving the runes of those ghouls.'
"I wonder where this incompetent rogue is currently..." Danzel thought for a moment before shaking his head.
'No matter, for now, I will just harvest some of those guys.'
